INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE: Applicant(s) hereby incorporate herein by reference, any and all U.S. patents, U.S. patent applications, and other documents and printed matter cited or referred to in this application.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to stone and masonry constructions and more particularly to for the king a masonry structure for use as a fire pit, a trash receptacle and similar applications.
2. Description of Related Art
The following art defines the present state of this field:
Jonas, U.S. Des. Pat. No. 201,536 describes a firebox for a self-supported fireplace design.
Paolella, U.S. Pat. No. 2,499,156 describes a fireplace structure comprising a base, a body and a grate-like member, the body being substantially rectangular and having an open top and a lower draft opening in one of the shorter sides, the base being wider than the body and comprising a number of elements arranged crosswise with respect to the body and disposed side by side, the body comprising four layers or courses of blocks of angular formation and the grate-like element being arranged adjacent the juncture of the top course. and the next underlying course and. within a flue provided by the blocks, the lowermost course comprising two identical angular blocks providing a portion of the flue and providing between them the aforesaid draft opening, said draft opening being between opposing angularly set terminal portions of said blocks, the course next above being comprised of two identical angular blocks each having a body portion extending throughout the width of the body of the fireplace and provided with angularly set terminals of unequal length; said terminals.being located at the. longer sides of the fireplace body, and the remaining courses of the body comprising blocks. identical with those of the second-mentioned course, the second, third and fourth courses having their blocks arranged so that the meeting edges of the terminals are in staggered relation.
Kreider, U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,540 describes a portable pre-cast fireplace, which includes: (a) a base of noncombustible material through which a horizontal cool air passage extends that develops at the rear end thereof into an upwardly extending passage; (b) a pre-cast shell of lightweight concrete of low heat conductivity and high temperature resistance that rests on said base, and in, the forward portion of which shell a symmetrical fireplace opening is formed, with the for tht king upper portion of said shell developing into a tubular neck that can be connected to a flue pipe; (c) a transversely positioned metallic firewall disposed in said shell that divides the interior thereof into a rear confined space that is in communication with said upwardly extending passage in said base and at least one warm air discharge opening formed in the upper rear portion of said shell, with the forward portion of said divided shell being utilized for the consumption of fuel; (d) two abutting doors that fit within the confines of said fireplace opening; (e) means for so movably supporting each of said doors that they can first be withdrawn from said opening and then pivoted in a direction to permit access to the interior of said shell; (f) a grate supported from said firewall in said forward portion of said shell; and (g) a damper adjustably supported from said firewall in said forward portion of said shell for regulating the draft to which fuel burning on said grate is subjected, which burning fuel heats said firewall to in turn heat said cool air entering said confined space from said passage, with the, sir heated in said confined space rising to pass from said warm air discharge opening, with said cool air as it rises and is heated. in said confined space. serving to absorb substantially-all the heat radiated thereto by said firewall and by so doing preventing any substantial heating of said shell rearwardly of said firewall.
Szentkuti, U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,770 describes a plurality of building blocks that are arranged in a nonpermanent combination forming a fireplace. A motorless coupling is used to secure various levels or courses of the blocks in a nonadhesive or nonpermanent manner. The configuaration of building blocks forms an ash or draft pit and a fire chamber. A fuel supporting grid is suspended in the fire chamber and a flame diffusing grid is suspended above the fuel supported grid. A grill is supported above the flame diffusing grid. Table blocks are supported on grid supporting rods on both sides of the mortarless masonry fireplace.
Shumock, U.S. Pat. No. 5,186,161 describes a modular fireplace construction utilizing interlocking corner joints in -the fire block area to provide a stable, free-standing base for the smoke chamber and chimney sections above. Individual sections are cast from an extremely heat resistant composition containing Luminate cement and Perlite aggregate. The completed fireplace does not require the addition of a flue liner. Dowel apertures may be formed in the individual sections which receive handling dowels to enable assemblers to easily lift and accurately place the sections during assembly.
Whalen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,980 describes a portable fireplace for burning combustible materials including a base member defining a fire chamber adapted to receive and contain the materials to be burned. One or more screen members are adapted to extend upwardly from the base member and to protect against burning embers being expelled from the fireplace. A cover member is supported above the screen members and is removable to provide access to the fire chamber when desired. A support structure is associated with the base member to support the base member at a sufficient height above a support surface to prevent the burning or scorching of the support surface. One or more of the screen members is selectively removable to provide access to the fire for enhanced viewing or cooking.
Hodge et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,085 describes a modular fireplace having a first side wall, a second side wall, and a back wall that is contiguous with the first side wall and the second side wall and defines an interior open-faced firebox region having a substantially “U” shape in top plan view. The first side wall is constructed from a plurality of sequentially stacked modular first side blocks and the second side wall is formed from a plurality of sequentially stacked modular second side blocks. The back wall has a first modular corner block, a second modular corner block, and at least one substantially vertical spacer block that are joined so that the first corner block and the second corner block are contiguous with the spacer block. To aid in the efficient drafting of the fireplace, each of the spacer blocks may have a spacer block air chamber extending therein from an open upper end on the spacer block top end to a closed lower end proximate the spacer block bottom end. Further, the first corner block may have a first corner block air chamber therein extending from an open first corner block upper end on the first corner block top end to a closed first corner block lower end proximate the first corner block bottom end, and the second corner block may have a second corner block air chamber extending therein from an open second corner block upper end on the second corner block top end to a closed second corner block lower end proximate the second corner block bottom end. The modular sections of the modular fireplace are engaged in a nesting relationship that serves to orient the respective modular sections, to provide structural support to the modular sections and the modular chimney, and to provide a physical obstruction to the passage of flame, hot gases, and smoke through the joints of the modular sections when the sections are physically joined and mortared together.
French, U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,256 describes a campfire box forming an enclosure having an open top, a closed bottom floor, and inner and outer side walls extending around the periphery of the enclosure with the inner side walls being of insulating material. One or more layers of fire insulating material cover the floor. The insulating side panels and floor provide a cavity formed of fire insulating material for enclosing combustible material.
Sulak, U.S. Pat. No. 6,178,965 describes separable sections including a base section, a firebox section, and a chimney section forming a free standing fireplace intended for use outdoors. In the assembled operational state the top chimney section fits over an opening through the top of the firebox section which fits, at the bottom, onto the top of the base section. In order to facilitate both transport and storage the sections may be configured so that the overall height and volume is much less than the overall height and volume of the fireplace in an operational state. The inverted chimney section may be largely disposed within the firebox section depending from the top of the same through an opening through the top of the firebox section and the base section then fitted on top of both depending downward exterior to the firebox section. At least one lateral opening to the inside of the firebox is provided for access to the interior and facilitation of viewing of a wood burning fire inside. Such a lateral opening may also be the only draft intake during use. Sheet steel is recommended for construction throughout. A cover, either a fire screen or a door, for each lateral opening is suggested as are locking caster wheels at the bottom of the base section. A grill may be added to facilitate cooking in which case a charcoal grate and provision for ventilation from underneath is also recommended.
McDonald, U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,288 describes a portable fireplace having an inner housing defined by an inner housing wall and forming a flame pit, an outer housing having an outer housing wall, the outer housing and the inner housing being interconnected to one another, the outer housing being in surrounding relationship to the inner housing, at least the majority of the for the king walls of the inner and outer housings being spaced from one another to provide an insulation space and a support disposed in the flame pit for supporting a flame presentation substance.
The prior art teaches fireboxes, outdoor gas fireplaces, masonry fire places, portable fireplaces, a mortarless takedown masonry fireplace, a modular fireplaces, a movable campfire box, a stowable fireplace, but does not teach a masonry fireplace of separable wall sections abutting and interlocking and mounted in a circular groove in a flat base. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.